Big Al

Just going from the Proboard updates, sounded as though by that stage the only viable racing line was out near the fence. If so, what would you expect Doyle to do - move in and say "after you, old chap" ?

These changes you noticed - when was the previous time you visited the stadium? Are they recent or could they possibly have been carried out longer ago (e.g. during winter 2012/13)? It's true that Glyn should now have more time to devote to track matters than was the case when he was trying to combine it with managing the team, and as you say if anybody can get it right, it will be him. From what i've gleaned about track work a curator needs to be skilled in minerology, civil engineering, meteorology, horticulture, geology, and have ability with electrics - to name a few. But no matter how good he is, or how many different methods are tried, if people continue to see or hear about mostly strung out and processional racing week after week, they're going to spend their cash and time in other ways and will become less and less likely to give it another go. Most of those who come along and want to be entertained for their money, are not much interested in the finer nuances of track preparation, and its those sort of punters who are desperately needed. We'll see if you prove right - but I'm afraid many have already made their decisions.

The first requirement, is for a certain individual to admit that he got it badly wrong. I'm not sure he is capable of that, maybe even to the point of now actually believing the delusion (as with T. Blair, ). But I fear things may now have gone beyond the point of no return. There's usually a "tipping point" with these things and we may have just reached it, if mrcts' "coming out" is anything to judge by. And I just can't see any prospect of the necessary substantial alterations being done during the season with its busy schedule, even if Mr Hemsley does by some miracle undergo a personality transformation! No - I anticipate the "Leicester provides the best in racing" bullrubbishe to carry on for the rest of the season, whilst customers melt away, a bit like King Cnute sitting in his chair on the beach as the waves slowly engulf him.

It appears, from all that's been said and heard, that David Hemsley may have decided to proceed with "his" design (and ignore any well-informed advice) as he was acting out of a sense of overblown vanity (cue Carly Simon song) by wanting to create something very different, maybe even to stick up two fingers and make a statement saying "there.....you've seen the others, now look at what I've made, arn't I amazing". I think he is an Architect by profession, and architects have been known to suffer from such thoughts of personal aggrandisement from time to time! And also in common with architects from time to time, they can create a complete turkey in their quest for "individuality" and the satisfaction of the ego and vanity. So in answer to your question, I think he could be on Planet Architect.

A laudable try, SCB, but you know that with certain contributors to Leicester thread you are basically pi**ing into the wind when you try to induce any sense of realism!! Welcome to the real world. The road to Damascus is clearly still open

Mads - agree, always thought it would be like that Track - curator (Glyn) gets compaints from riders if it's too deep. I suspect the problem is with the tightness of bends, turning gets difficult if track depth goes beyond a certain threshold- which is quite a low one

Just have a look on google earth. Then look at Berwick. All will be confirmed!

Presumably they are waiting until Sam Ermolenko is available to do the track report?

I'm well curious to know what your definition of "good racing" is, Weatherwatcher. Please explain a bit more, if you'd be so kind?

Hansen a Leicester "track expert"!! How many times has he raced at Leicester? I can only recall one meeting, but i stand to be corrected there. From other posts on BSF, it sounds like he prefers grip and getting out wide to pick up drive. After the Leicester v Lakeside match last Saturday, the Leicester track curator said on this forum that he'd had to take dirt off and right out to the fence (ie. away from the race line) because the riders were complaining. So I wouldn't expect to see much this evening, from the start. For anyone who doesn't know, this is how to be a Leicester track expert (as performed by M.Karlsson whenever he was in the mood): 1. Gate fast and hit turn 1 in front. 2. Take a narrow and sharp turn into bends 1 and 3, then move outwards (but not too far) in a smooth arc through the apex. Exit bends 2 and 4 by continuing the arc outwards but not too far out, as if you do that you'll run out of track. Don't stay too close to the curb or others will just go past you. 3. Repeat no.2 above another 3 times and nobody will have a chance of getting past you without having to knock you off your bike. Caution: if you do decide to go into the dirt out by the fence, the chances are that you and your bike will part company with each other.

So what it sounds like to me from the previous pages, might go something like; Ref makes a howler and excludes the wrong rider, and doesn't realise or admit it (or if he does, it's too late). Medic who isn't experienced with sporting injuries and in particular motorcycle sport and by the sound of it wasn't the usual Medic, took an overly cautious decision probably due to that inexperience. Yes it sounds as if Lakeside would have gained an away point, had those two factors been different. But they wern't, and unfortunately Lakeside will just have to accept that it's happened and if they are going to have an official moan, maybe it should be about the ref? The other thing to keep in mind, is this little espisode stemmed from an incident involving two riders who are still relatively inexperienced. Whatever the reasons and arguments for and against, the Elite league now contains such riders, and so it is likely that incidents will occur throughout the season, affecting all teams at some point. We just hope that the seriousness of incidents in terms of injury are not high, although sadly there has been a serious one so far. The risk is that these young riders will on occasion, due to the pressure they feel under because of the closeness of the match score, overdo things. The clubs should be more concerned about this and be careful about making public statements such as saying "the team is not performing well enough". We can't wrap them in cotton wool, but it must be remembered they are a very different entity to the guys at 1-5.

Total lottery, this one. Can see riders winning a race then trailing in last, all over the scorecard. Bonanza night for the bookies!

Real shame that Charles Wright wasn't in the draft - presumably he chose not to be, as I'm fairly sure he would have been eligible, and would have been good choice as no.6 for Lions. Tom P would have been far better off as a no.7 and i think he was perhaps classified wrongly as a no.6. If you look at the other no.6 riders in the EL, only Stefan Nielsen at BV isn't riding in the PL (but he has lots of experience), which further serves to underline how unfair it is on Tom to be expected to fill that position, especially with such an inexperienced guy as Max Clegg at 7. I wonder what Allan means by "address" ?

Facing away from the track, presumably? That's kind of D - shaped. Almost as big as Leicester Super

Has anyone seen overhead shots of Belgrave Road roundabout with the flyover now removed? Looks like the ideal shape for a racey speedway track to me. I wonder if the City Mayor might be persuaded??

As Chief Executive of the British Tripe Marketing Company, I would like to ask contributors to this Forum to kindly cease making derogatory comments about a healthy, nutritious, traditional and good value food by comparing it with the qualoity of racing entertainment served up by the Leicester Speedway track. If this persists, I may take out legal injunctions in an attempt to stop any further negative references to wonderful, tasty and appetising TRIPE

The material used for British tracks now seems to contain a higher proportion of clay, as compared with seasons gone by. This is possibly down to a combination of cost, and riders preference for having more clay in the material. When clay gets wet, it is a devil of a job for it to dry when the air temperature is below a certain level, such as in (but not exclusively) March and October. That's why the answer is to blade it off. In Poland, they could well use a material with lower clay content, and as you say, don't prepare racing tracks at such extreme ends of the season. So it could be that this guy, although experienced in terms of number of years, is relatively inexperienced in other ways and just doesn't know how to cope with circumstances beyond his knowledge. And doesn't seem able to listen.

And the material used in Poland could be very different in terms of how it reacts to conditions, to the material used in the UK/Coventry?

The format is putting way too much pressure on them. I think that's the point that Weatherwatcher (and others) have been trying to make, they are not slating the riders involved, they are actually more concerned about them and especially about the possible negative effects if a team comes under pressure to make changes if results don't go well and if the shortage of points is from rider numbers 6 and/or 7. This is what happened at Leicester last season to an extent, and we got into a kind of revolving door situation - also it happened in 2011.

Irony?? Leicester website still has official track length 317 metres

Will the Wolf sink its fangs into the Lions soft underbelly and fell the beast? Not with Chris Harris, they won't. The Lion will prevail, but it will be a battle to the last!

Based just on points scored against their opposite numbers on the other teams, riders 6 & 7 between them can score a maximum of 15 points per match, and a minimum of 2 - that's as long as they both finish each heat, and doesn't cater for any times they pick up additional points such as by finishing ahead of the other team's 2 or 4 (or their own 2 and 4!). So, if they're going to "pull their weight" in terms of points contribution towards a win for the team, they are going to need to score on average at least 9 points between them (and of course riders 1-5 will have to do their stuff as well!). Anything less than that, will require riders 1-5 to hit above their weight. If Leicester's reserves can't produce their average 9 points per match, will the 1-5 guys be able to make up the shortfall and score more than 36 between them? I think it's a tough ask. maybe at home they can do it, but unlikely away. Perry & Clegg are going to be key riders to Leicester's winning or losing, and i think it's an unfair situation to put two such inexperienced riders into. But it's the way things are, unfortunately. Leicester didn't invent this new system, but they did choose the riders ahead of others and so they must be confident in them being able to produce the points - the question is when will that happen??

Well I think that we're being sold the EL venture by the promotion, partly on the basis that riders will be of a higher standard and therefore closer together on the track. Time will tell

At the risk of getting a hail of bricks heading my way......... you've obviously not been to Beaumont Park yet

No way, I'm voting for Weatherwatcher